I've Seen The Rain
by ShadowOfApate
Summary: Experiment Fic. The fight against the First Evil goes very wrong. The world becomes a demonic shell of itself, forcing Willow to go back in time. Unfortunately, she knows, this time she can't bring Buffy back to life.


Title : I've Seen The Rain  
>Author : Tariq ( formerly Aeris Jade Orion )<br>Rating : R  
>Pairing : WRTM  
>Timeline : Season Six<p>

Summary : What if the First Evil had won? What  
>if Giles had a back up plan? One which Willow<br>had been forced to carry out alone?

Authors note: It's unbeta'd. At the moment I  
>have no beta reader for this genre. So drop me<br>a line if you're interested.

Second, due to health issues, and taking care  
>of my disabled mom, I haven't been able to<br>write much. But over the last several years  
>I've managed to slowly write on a number<br>of stories.

What I've decided to do is go ahead and  
>publish what I've managed to put together.<br>The stories are unfinished, and sometimes,  
>the last chapter I worked on is unfinished.<br>Plus, there maybe multiple chapters, each one a  
>different version. Just warning everyone.<p>

So I apologize in advance.

Disclaimer : Not mine. All characters belong  
>to Joss Whedon.<p>

00000  
>Prologue<br>00000

Willow swiped at the blood running freely from  
>her forehead. Panting tiredly in exhaustion. She<br>was low on energy and on magic.

It had been months since Buffy had opened the  
>Hellmouth, and lost. Months since the Turok-Han's<br>had over run the world. The uber vamps were too  
>much for the newly risen, and untrained slayers<br>still out there.

Willow could do nothing as they died in waves.  
>Becoming extinct within weeks of her spell. This<br>time there was no Faith or Buffy to ride to the  
>rescue. Not even a Scooby.<p>

Willow and Giles were the last two surviving  
>members of the gang. Barely making it out of<br>town with their lives.

" There's no choice. " Giles rasped in pain.  
>His hand pressing the deep gash in his side.<br>" You must fix this. "

" But the coven... Ms. Harkness... " Willow  
>flinched at just the idea of what the ex-watcher<br>was suggesting.

" After I discovered the cause of The First's  
>attack's on the slayer line, I began to discuss<br>the idea with the coven. " Giles admitted hoarsely.  
>" Just before the final battle, they agreed that<br>should things go wrong, it would be an acceptable  
>risk. "<p>

Willow sat beside her mentor in thought. The dusty  
>crypt was dead quiet and it was a far cry from were<br>they had been months earlier. Living in Buffy's  
>boarded up house, no electricity, no hot water,<br>no fresh food. Thirty something people cramed in.

She ran her bloody hands through her greasy, uncut  
>hair. It fell forward in uneven strands, showing a<br>number of white single hairs mixed throughout.

Magic.

It had been used almost constantly since her  
>spell to activate the slayers. In the process,<br>she had been given a hard life lesson in the  
>difference between battle magic and black magic.<br>Keeping a careful inner balance with an outer  
>balance.<p>

The result had been white hair peppered along  
>her red hair. The intense use of white magic,<br>powerful white magic, and the stress of grey  
>battle magic being too much for her body.<p>

Now, he was asking her to take it a step  
>further. No, not a step. A stair case.<p>

He wanted her to use the most powerful of all  
>white magics to reset time and redo her life<br>from the just before Buffy's resurrection.

No, Buffy. No, First Evil.

But what would the magic do to her? To her  
>body? Yeah, she had in the past months regained<br>her balance of black and white magic. Whoo and  
>hoo. White hair, not so much with the whooing.<p>

What about the Hellmouth? With no slayer they  
>had been struggling, and yeah, she was all<br>witchy foo, but she was using way too much magic  
>as is.<p>

The problems just kept adding up, and she  
>had no answers.<p>

" Willow, I believe in you. " Giles softly smiled,  
>and took a rattling breath.<p>

He was dead.

She didn't feel anything. Too much death, too  
>fast. After a while, she had become numb. Simply<br>closing their eyes, then moving on. No time to  
>bury them, no time to pray, or say goodbye.<p>

Slumping forward in defeat, she realized she had  
>two choices.<p>

She waited to die. Or she could not die.

00000

' She saved the world. A lot. '

Willow placed a small, smooth stone on Buffy's  
>grave. Today was supposed to be the day she<br>would bring up the idea of performing the  
>resurrection spell. The first of many times<br>spent trying to convince her three cohorts.

Instead, she would spend the meeting on other  
>matters. The Hellmouth, Dawn, Mr. Summers,<br>money issues, and a dozen other little problems.

She tucked her white and red hair back behind  
>her ear. Wincing in pain at the simple movement.<br>She felt raw inside. Raw, tender, and filled  
>past bursting.<p>

Her magic was five times more concentrated than  
>it was. More bang for her buck.<p>

She frowned at the grave of her best friend.  
>So far she hadn't seen anyone yet. She'd arrived<br>early in the morning, here where everything had  
>started to go wrong.<p>

How would she explain the changes in her? Her  
>hair? Her magic? Her personality?<p>

Goddess, Tara was alive.

There was so much to consider.

The sun rose in front of her. Painting the sky  
>in a large range of colors. The air swirled<br>around her, free of the dark magic and ash of  
>the future.<p>

' Goddess, if you hear me, guide a lost daughter.  
>Watch over her as she stumbles down a path blindly. '<p>

11111  
>Chapter One<br>11111

She entered Willy's with shaded eyes. Scanning  
>the bar slowly. She had three targets today.<br>Three very important targets.

Willow confidently paced up to a vampire in the  
>back corner. Six foot one inches tall. Three<br>hundred eighty nine pounds of pure muscle. Short,  
>spikey, neon green hair. A dozen earrings in each<br>ear.

" Pat? " Willow cocked her eyebrow at the brick  
>wall.<p>

" Who wants to know? " He rumbled.

" I'm Willow, the slayer's witch. " She let her  
>power surface, smirking as the bar went silent.<br>" I have a few bets to place. The question is,  
>can you handle them? "<p>

She reined in her magic so the demons around  
>her could function. But even so, she could see<br>the weariness in the patrions eyes.

Pat seemed more amused and curious than anything.  
>Making her wonder what his story was. She knew<br>just a handful of information about him. Mostly  
>what she'd picked up over the years from dealing<br>with Spike, Clem, and Willy.

" Depends on the bets. " Pat lifted a cigar from  
>the tables ash tray and puffed on it.<p>

She tugged a folded sheet of paper from her jeans,  
>dropping it into in front of him. He unfolded it<br>and chuckled.

" Well, well. The wicked witch doesn't do things  
>by half. " Pat put his cigar down. " Horses, NFL,<br>NHL, NBA, you've covered every bet I take. Hmmm.  
>The amounts are very, very large too. High odds<br>against you. "

" Is that a problem? " She challenged.

" Far from it. " Pat grinned widely. " You a  
>seer? "<p>

" Not a seer. " She mischieviously let out a  
>single knowing giggle.<p>

" But you're a witch. " Pat nodded, removing a  
>thick book from his leather jacket, writing in<br>it. " I'll take your bet's. "

Willow grew serious. Her magic coming alive.  
>" You will honor them when I win. "<p>

" The minute you win, I will honor them. " Pat  
>agreed easily, giving her the betting ticket.<p>

She noticed he was positive she would win. Yet,  
>he didn't have her future memories.<p>

' Strange vampire. ' She thought. ' Useful, but  
>strange. '<p>

" I'll be back tonight for my winnings. " She  
>warned.<p>

" I'll be here. " Pat assured.

She spun on her heel, and marched toward her  
>next victim. A chaos demon in a booth by the<br>front wall. Slime and all.

" Mr. Jameson? "

" Yes, ma'am. " The demon nervously spoke up.

" I have some items to sell. " Willow hefted  
>a large duffle bag onto the table. " Rare<br>mystical artifacts. "

" Really? " The demon perked up. He reached into  
>his tweed jacket and removed a pair of thin<br>glasses. He perched them on his nose with an air  
>similar to Giles. " What do you have? "<p>

" Nothing dangerous. " She said. " I don't want  
>to risk anything apocalypsy getting out. "<p>

She unzipped the bag. The first item she lifted  
>out was a jar of blood. Sealed, labeled, and<br>classified.

" Oohhh. Where did you get the blood of a  
>virginal vengeance demon? " He blinked.<p>

" Don't ask. " She blushed.

" Ten thousand. "

" Twenty. "

" Fifteen. "

" Ninteen. "

" Sixteen. "

" Eighteen. " Willow demanded. " Not a cent less. "

" Seventeen fifty. " He shot back.

" Agreed. " Willow opened a small pocket in the  
>duffle bag. She grabbed the small flip notebook<br>and pen, then made a note. " Okay, the next item. "

She removed the light bamboo, palm sized box. It  
>was similar to a rubix cube. Instead of square's<br>of color, it had symbols. Ancient Japanese. The  
>borders were engraved with mythical Japanese<br>creatures.

" Oh my. What a find. " He breathed. " A magical  
>puzzle box. "<p>

" Signed by Akihiko. "

" Dear Hades. " His hands shook, taking the box  
>from her, cradling it like a newborn. " It's... "<p>

" ...priceless. " Willow finished.

" Fifty thousand. " He offered.

" One million. " She countered firmly. " We both  
>know it's worth a hundred times that. "<p>

He looked up at her, then back at the box. " Very  
>well. "<p>

She made another note, then brought out the third  
>item. A roll of leather.<p>

" Leather from an Earth Elemental. "

" Those are very rare. " The demon was less  
>excited, but interested. " Perfect condition,<br>three yards... Five thousand. "

" Ten. "

" Six. "

" Nine. "

" Seven. "

" Eight. "

" Deal. " Jameson nodded.

She noted the latest amount down.

" Okay, the fourth item is a blank book of  
>shadows. " She handed it over. It was prepared,<br>protected, all inscribtions made, and magics  
>completed. " Made with Sprite hide, thrice<br>blessed by fairies, reinforced with dwarf  
>silver. "<p>

" Eight thousand. "

" Twelve. " Willow shot back.

" Nine. "

" Eleven Fifty. "

" Nine Fifty. "

" Eleven. " Willow became firm.

" Ten. "

" Ten Fifty. " Willow glared.

" Alright. "

Willow wrote it down. Then lifted out the last  
>item. A jewelry box. Celtic. Pewter. Decorated<br>with trinity knots. Three Rubys were on each  
>side of the box.<p>

" The Music box of Damara. " Willow smirked  
>lightly. " I don't need a magical music box of<br>fertility so... "

" I understand. " He chuckled. " Five hundred  
>thousand. "<p>

" Two million. " She countered. " It's a very  
>powerful artifact. Ferility magic or not. "<p>

" One. "

" One point eight. "

" One point two. "

" One point six. "

" One point three. "

" One point five. " Willow glared. " It's more  
>than worth it. "<p>

The demon sighed but nodded. " Bring the items  
>back tonight and we'll make the exchange. "<p>

" Fine. I'll see you at two. " She said,  
>packing everything back up.<p>

Which left one more piece of business. She lifted  
>the duffle, and stalked behind the bar.<p>

" Hey, you can't come back here. " Willy squeaked.

She snatched hold of his shirt collar, dragging  
>him into the back room, then dropped her duffle.<p>

" Hello Willy, we need to have a little talk. "  
>She purred.<p>

" W-what about? " He squirmed in her hold.

" I've been hearing rumors lately. Rumors that  
>the slayer is dead. Now, you wouldn't happen to<br>know anything about this, would you? "

" I don't! I swear! "

She slammed him into the wall. She let her magic  
>loose. Let him feel it. Fear entered his eyes.<br>The kind of fear Buffy usually installed in him.

" Try again. " She growled.

" Okay! Okay! " He whimpered. " One of Glory's  
>minions got away. H-he saw the slayer die. He's<br>been telling a-anyone who'd listen a-about what  
>h-happened. T-the entire community knows. I-its<br>this big joke, h-how you have t-that stupid bot  
>out p-patroling. "<p>

She felt her magic try to surge up. Her emotions  
>want to get out of control. The entire summer the<br>demon community had been kicking back and watching  
>the show like they were a sitcom to laugh at.<p>

" D-demons have been coming in from everywhere.  
>They've been hiding underground. Waiting to<br>make a move. The town is breeming with hundreds  
>of demons. It's swarming. Overflowing. We're<br>about to explode with 'em. " Willy whined.

' Oh Goddess. ' She felt her eyes harden. Her  
>control tighten. She wasn't in the future anymore<br>but she was a survivor of war. ' I won't lose  
>anyone else. '<p>

" Listen closely, Willy. " She leaned forward,  
>hissing in his ear. " The slayer may be dead, but<br>the Wicked Witch is here and ready to play. Any  
>demon not out of town by morning gets a Willow<br>special. "

" W-Willow special? " Willy trembled.

" Starting at sunrise, I will go from crypt to  
>crypt, warehouse to warehouse, and I will<br>personlly exterminate any demon I find. How  
>depends on my mood. Maybe I'll skin them, maybe<br>I'll pull them apart piece by piece, or maybe  
>I'll just flambe them. Understand? Or do I have<br>to give you an example? "

" NO! "

" Good. Spread the word. " She let him go,  
>wrinkling her nose at the yellow stain spreading<br>across the front of his pants. " By the way, do  
>you know a good lawyer? Someone with a lot of<br>magical or demonic experience? "

11111

" Where the hell have you been?! " Xander demanded,  
>yanking his door open. " What happened to your<br>hair? What are you wearing? "

" Are you Willow? " Anya blinked.

Willow walked into the couples apartment, pausing  
>at the sight of everyone whole, and alive. Tara<br>especially was a punch to the gut.

" Your magic... " The wiccan froze.

" I know. I did a powerful white spell this  
>morning. " She explained. " I was worried Buffy<br>might be trapped in Hell, so I decided to check  
>on her soul. She's in Heaven by the way. "<p>

" What does that have to do with your magic? "  
>Anya frowned.<p>

" Oh, it sort of interacted with all the black  
>in me and overloaded it. I went all white haired,<br>too. " Willow smiled sheepishly. " Talk about a  
>power trip. "<p>

" Y-you should have asked m-me to ground you. "  
>Tara scolded lightly, hugging her tightly.<p>

She wrapped her arms around the blonde. The  
>smell of vanilla and cherries filling her<br>heart with warmth.

" I know, sweetie, but I woke up from a  
>nightmare, and couldn't get back to sleep. I<br>kept imagining Buffy in Hell being tortured,  
>and you know how my mind is. " She let go,<br>settling for holding Tara's left hand instead.

" It never stops. " Tara smiled gently.

" To put it lightly. " Willow joked. " Plus, I  
>worried Dawnie would wake up and I didn't want<br>to leave her alone. "

" I understand. "

" So the meeting. " Xander clapped. " I vote  
>we get started, and for the first order of<br>buisness, I think we need a leader. "

" Oh, I agree, we defintely need a boss. "  
>Anya nodded, taking a seat on the couch,<br>yanking Xander next to her.

Tara took a seat in a chair, and Willow perched  
>on the arm of it.<p>

" I think it's a good idea. " Tara smiled at the  
>ex-demon. " Willow? "<p>

" Yep. "

" Great, in that case, I vote for Willow. "  
>Xander beamed.<p>

" Hey! " Anya smacked him in the chest. " Why not  
>me? "<p>

" Well, first, ouch! Secondly, Willow is the  
>brainy type. She actually has an IQ in which<br>the other genius's stop and stare in amazement  
>at. Thirdly, Giles has been training her in<br>Watcher like stuff since forever. Forth, ouch. "  
>Xander rubbed at his chest.<p>

" Okay, you have a point, " Anya pouted. " or  
>two. Still as your fiancee you are obligated<br>to give me a token nomination. "

" And he would, under any other nonhellmouthy  
>circumstances, " Willow piped up. " but he loves<br>you so much he would rather have you alive and  
>mad at him, than dead and happy with him. "<p>

" What do you mean? " Anya eyed her.

" Well, Buffy's secret death, not so secret. "  
>Willow winced at pale white faces of her friends.<br>" We've currently got a town swarming with  
>hundreds of demons. "<p>

" How...? " Tara asked.

" One of Glory's minion's survived, and has  
>been blabbing to every demon he can find<br>since. "

" Where'd you get your info? " Xander frowned.  
>" 'Cause this isn't exactly something you pick<br>up on the corner market, and I get the idea the  
>demon community doesn't want this getting out. "<p>

" I was at Willy's today and..."

" Okay, hold up. " Anya stopped her. " Why were  
>you at Willy's? "<p>

" I was taking care of our finacial problems. "  
>Willow explained.<p>

" Why don't I like the sound of that? " Xander  
>questioned Anya.<p>

" Because you're not a complete moron. " Anya  
>patted his knee.<p>

" Relax. " Willow rolled her eyes. " I was selling  
>some harmless artifacts I've been hoarding. "<p>

" And you didn't come to me first? " Anya huffed.

" I got a better deal from the chaos demon. "  
>Willow shot back. " Plus, he didn't charge me<br>some sort outragous finder's fee. "

" But I'm your friend, and I'm going to be your  
>sister in-law. " Anya accussed.<p>

" I made over two million dollars. " She said.

" Really? " Tara lit up in relief.

" Yeah. Much more than that, really. " She smiled  
>back. " I also opened an off shore account with<br>great interest, no fees, and it's not illegal. "

" Thank Goddess. " Tara kissed her.

" I also got the name's of a few attorney's who  
>deal with the demon community. I need to research<br>them, but they may be able to wrangle us custody  
>of Dawn. It may mean getting paperwork for us to<br>be life partners. You know, full power of authority  
>and such, but I figure we can discuss that later. "<p>

" What about the demons? " Anya demanded.

" Oh, right. " Willow frowned. " I overheard a  
>vampire talking and cornered Willy. It took some<br>persuasion but he spilled the beans. Said the  
>demons have been getting a real laugh at us. "<p>

" Oh boy. " Xander shuddered in fear. " What the  
>hell do we do? "<p>

" I vote for Willow. " Anya raised her hand.

" Me, too. " Tara raised hers.

" Great, so Willow's now the boss of us. Can  
>we decide how to save the town, preferably while<br>staying alive. " Xander gestured frantically.

" Actually, I had Willy pass on a message. I'm  
>giving the demons til morning to get out of<br>town. " Willow said.

" What?! " Anya sat up. " Why? "

" Two reasons. One, I have to go back to Willy's  
>tonight to get my money, " She sheepishly admitted.<br>" and two, I figure I can kill the majority of them  
>in the day time. It'll be easier, and make more of<br>a statement, after the whole message thing. "

" Especially if most of them are vampires. " Anya  
>nodded. " Okay, I can see why you're the leader. "<p>

" Thanks. " Willow smiled.

" I don't think you should be going back to Willy's  
>alone. " Tara frowned.<p>

" I have to get the money tonight. I made a deal,  
>if I don't keep to my end, it could get nasty. "<p>

" Willow's right, but so is Tara. " Anya said.

" Great, group outing. " Xander hopped up. " Spike  
>is with Dawn so why don't we head out? "<p>

Willow didn't like this idea at all. A greedy  
>ex-demon, a construction worker, a wiccan, and<br>a time traveling magical addict walk into a  
>demon bar...<p>

Some joke.

11111

" Oi, Red. " Pat called.

" Pat, how's business? " Willow walked over with  
>Tara at her back and the other two following.<p>

" You swept the board, kid. " Pat smirked.

" Angry? " She batted her eyes.

" Far from it. I was curious so I place my own  
>bets using you for a guide. " Pat chuckled. " I'm<br>thinking of naming you my lucky charm, or maybe  
>my lady luck. "<p>

He raised an eyebrow to an eight foot tall robed  
>demon. It's nasty claws curled around a large<br>canvass duffle. The figure threw it onto the  
>table in front of her.<p>

" Four million. " Pat handed her a recipt.

Willow unzipped the bag, pointedly ignoring Anya  
>materializing next to her, and Xander's choking.<p>

" Four...? " Tara frowned.

" I made a small bet. " Willow flipped through  
>the stacks of money. She had no doubt Pat wouldn't<br>cheat her. Not after her earlier display. But she  
>wasn't taking any chances.<p>

She rezipped the duffle, and handed it to Xander.  
>Very happy to see him having to fend off his own<br>fiancee. The blonde was doing everything and  
>anything to get to the bag.<p>

" You made a bet? " Tara intently focused.

" It's okay, sweetie. It was on a few things I  
>was positive on. " She assured.<p>

She let Tara brush her mind. Allowing the blonde  
>feel her intent. Her trust in her information.<br>Finally, the blonde left, and smiled in relief.

" We'll talk later, okay? " Willow gently asked.

" Okay. " Tara agreed.

She head over to Jameson and smiled at the  
>cheery wave he gave. The chaos demon might be<br>all antler's and slime but he was a friendly  
>sort.<p>

" Hey, you have the money? " She asked, sitting  
>her bag on the table.<p>

" Oh yes, I've already got several buyers lined  
>up. " Jameson handed over a briefcase. " I can't<br>wait to see what else you come up with. Why the  
>venegeance demon blood alone is going is already<br>sold. Virgin indeed. By the way how old was the  
>demon? "<p>

" Thirteen thousand, give or take a few hundred  
>years. " She opened the briefcase, and scanned<br>the money. " It's female blood. A black haired,  
>blue eyed ex-viking. Real man hater, who isn't<br>into women if you get my meaning. "

" Wait, you have blood from Hilda, and you sold  
>it? " Anya stopped drooling over the money.<br>" How'd you managed that? "

" It's actually kind of funny. I saw her at the  
>Bronze. She was in the middle of a bar brawl.<br>Drunk off her goard, and taking a lot of head  
>shots. Finally she just sort of passed out in<br>the middle of this mess. " Willow closed the  
>briefcase. " She was in full demon face, and<br>losing a lot of blood. "

" Y-you took her blood? " Anya gaped.

" W-well, it's not like she was doing anything  
>with it at the time, a-and it was just going<br>to waste. Plus, I bandaged her up. " Willow  
>weakly protested.<p>

Much to her confusion Anya hugged her and began  
>to sniff. " I'm so proud. "<p>

" W-what? " Willow's eyes widened in horror.

" My sister-in-law is a commerce fiend. A true  
>money making expert. I never dreamed you would<br>become my best friend in the whole world. " Anya  
>gushed.<p>

' Oh Goddess, no. ' She cried out in fear.

" You're my mentor. I must learn the ways of  
>money from you. " Anya let go excitedly. " We<br>must schedule a time for lessons. "

She shot Tara a look of pure desperation, but  
>her lover was to busy giggling uncontrolibly.<br>Turning to Xander, her nightmare was complete,  
>her best friend was beaming at her. With pride.<p>

Her shoulder's slumped in defeat. Eyes watering  
>in despair. She sighed the sigh of the betrayed.<p>

" The day after tommorrow we'll start. " She  
>offered Anya weakly.<p>

The blonde squealed in delight.

She slumped further down, pouting at the increase  
>of giggles from Tara.<p>

' Betrayed by the woman I love. '

-  
>To Be Continued<p> 


End file.
